


soul rebel

by erintoknow



Series: Aria [3]
Category: Fallen Hero Series - Malin Rydén, Fallen Hero: Rebirth (Video Game)
Genre: Coming Out, F/F, POV Second Person, Slow Burn, Trans Character, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-07 09:56:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21456157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erintoknow/pseuds/erintoknow
Summary: You need to be real. To be human. It’s your only chance of making it out here in the real world.And if there’s one thing you know about humans; they can’t exist on their own.
Relationships: Ortega/Sidestep (Fallen Hero)
Series: Aria [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1399939
Comments: 17
Kudos: 38





	1. Passing

**Author's Note:**

> [[True Trans Soul Rebel by Against Me!]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeY2hPO7BlM)

“So,” Charge turns on you, “When’s your birthday?”

“I… w–what?” What had been an earnest conversation with Anathema about self-medication has gone totally pear-shaped with Charge inserting herself into the conversation. And now she blindsides you with a personal question? You cross your arms, grateful for the mask hiding the surprise on your face. “None of your business.” It’s better than having to lie to her.

Charge raises her hands, looking a little put-off. “Well sorry Sidestep, I didn’t know it was classified.”

“It’s not.It’s just…” You stumble on your tongue, trying to find a nicer way to say. “It–it–it’s private.” Why does Charge want to know your birthday? You barely know her. That’s weird. This is weird. What if she’s on to something? What if she needs the date to cross-check something and expose your secret?

Anathema gives you a concerned look. That settles it. “Hey, s–sorry, I got to go.”

“Hey, wait!” Charge makes a move to grab your arm but you twist out of the way in time. “Look, I’m sorry, I just wanted to–”

“It’s fine,” you cut her off with your hand. “I’m j–just running late. See you all later.”

“Bye, Sidestep,” Anathema says as you leave.

Behind you, you can hear their not-so-whispered argument.

“Nice going, Charge.”

“What?! I didn’t do anything!”

Getting home is always an extended process. Can’t go straight home dressed like this after all. Keep a couple changes of clothes stashed around the neighborhood, something that’ll cover the skinsuit, a backpack to hide the mask and the day’s tools. Suitably disguised, _now_ it’s safe to go home.

And it _is_ a disguise. As weird as it is to think of Alex that way. Alex is a perfectly ordinary human boy – girl. Human girl. You can call yourself that now. You mean call Alex that. No, you mean yourself – yourself who is Alex? Or – augh! If you’re really going to do this, then you need to find a name for yourself that actually feels like you.

Maybe it would be easier if your heart didn’t spike with fear every time you’re outside unmasked. Partly from the Directive, but mostly at what other people will think. Maybe someone ‘normal’ could power through but can you hear every idle thought passing by you.

‘_What the hell is that?’ ‘Is that a boy or a girl_?’

It shouldn’t bother you. They don’t matter, and it shouldn’t bother you. You pull one of Chelsea’s songs tight around your thoughts and power on through. No one needs to look at you. No one needs to see. No one’s going to actually say something. This is Los Diablos after all, and the Farm did their job well. As long as you keep covered, you barely register on the ‘freak’ scale.

Just get home. Race up the steps, two at a time. Use the key Chelsea had made for you. It looks like she’s still out. Whatever job she’s working has had her on doing late hours recently. She won’t tell you what. You want to respect her privacy but it makes you nervous.

Nothing for it.

Toss the backpack onto the couch, turn on the TV. It’s still a little surreal hearing the News report on events you were there for. Surreal and exciting. Like you’re actually making a difference. Better eat something first so you can focus on the favor Chelsea asked you.

Leftovers in the fridge, from when Chelsea made Lasagna. Or you could order out something. Or you could go eat somewhere in person. You can do whatever you want. No one to tell you otherwise. You shouldn’t be allowed to have this much power. There’s a rush to it, something sacrilegious.

You really ought to have cut ties by now. Staying in the same place this long is dangerous. The only reason you came back tonight is she asked for your help fixing whatever was wrong with the computer she picked up at a refurb store the other day.

But there’s always something she’s hoping to get your help with. Shopping for clothes, groceries, making dinner, taking stuff to the laundromat; little chores, but they add up. And then it gets late, or Chelsea says she feels better if she’s not here alone, so you might as well stay, and at least in that she doesn’t seem to be lying when she says she doesn’t mind. Not to mention it’s a roof over your head and it’s been safe so far so you might as well, and–

Whatever. You don’t need to keep chasing that line of thought.

Oh! The news is finally talking about today’s fight.


	2. Resistance

“Give it up, Rangers!”

You hang back in the alley as you take in the scene. The windows of the In-N-Out have been blown out, scattering glass all over the street. Police cordons are being set up up and down the block. Standing by the broken window a tall, lanky man in a black and white suit stands, a bundle of electrical wires coiled around one hand.

Sergeant Steel and Anathema stand in the middle of the street, consulting with the police. Steel shakes his head, focused on the man in the window. “You’re surrounded Ohm! Don’t make this worse on yourself!”

Ohm laughs, tightens his fist around the coil of wires. “The only way the good citizens of Los Diablos come out of this alive, Sergeant, is that I’m allowed to leave, unmolested.”

Cast out your mind to scan the area and you quickly regret it. A discord of panicky, fearful thoughts. It takes a moment to sort through it all. How many hostages? A dozen? You slink around the perimeter, willing that no one notice you.

Anathema catches your eye and you raise a hand in acknowledgement. With one hand you gesture down the alleyway, putting a finger to your lips. The Ranger frowns at that but there’s not exactly anything she can do to stop you from there. She leans over to Steel, whispers something in his ear. You’ll sneak around, get a better sense of the situation; what you can do.

The back door is unlocked. Could it be that easy? No way, right?

Slip inside, careful now. Infiltration isn’t your strong suit and there’s a lot of mental chaff making it hard to sort through thoughts for possible danger. Counting on the hostage negotiation to be sufficient distraction. This would be easier if you had a gun.

Peek around a wall and you can see out into the main room. Someone’s foot pokes into the hallway. The hostages must be up against the service counter. Ohm is still standing by the window, fist full of electrical wiring in his hand. What’s his deal with that, anyway?

Follow the bend of the cords down to the floor, how it curls… It leads straight to were everyone’s huddled. A trap then. Somehow. Ohm, ohm… electrical resistance? Does Ohm have electrical powers? Are those wires live? Unless… maybe he doesn’t generate electricity, like Charge does with her mods, just redirects it? So if you could cut off the power…

Cautiously, you brush against his mind. His anxious. Afraid he’s not getting out of this one. Your own hand twitches in sympathy at the buzzing sensation in the back of Ohm’s head. The wires are live, alright.

You pull back, out of sight again. There should be a fusebox in a maintenance closet somewhere. That should be easier than trying to find and cut where ever Ohm’s wires are hooked into the grid.

Freezer, cash office, there! Don’t bother trying to guess which circuit, you flip the whole mess off and the building goes dark. Almost immediately, the yelling starts. Okay – here we go.

It’s a dash back to the store front. Ohm is panicking.

He turns to face you as you slide into the room, “Who the fuck are you?”

You can feel your hand twitch in sympathy. He still has a charge? Did you misunderstand his gimmick? No – it’s residual, one shot. Still enough to threaten with. You hold back, fists ready in a combat stance.

Ohm scowls, “Get the hell out of here or these people get it. I’m warning you…”

You take one step backwards, glancing at the people lined up on the floor against the counter. Come on man, that’s right, pay attention to you, turn your back. “Let these people go.” You let your voice drop into it’s old masculine register. Probably won’t make a difference, but sometimes you’ve been surprised.

“You got to the count of three kid and then these people get it. You really want that on your conscience?”

You stay put. Can still feel the charge in his left hand, wrapped in the coils of wire.

“Three…”

Isn’t it tiring hold those electrical wires up for so long? Hasn’t this been a long day?

“Two…”

It’d be so easy to just let them go, wouldn’t? You’d have both hands free for the fight ahead that way. Doesn’t that seem smarter?

“One…”

Three things happen at once: As the wires fall from Ohm’s open hand, sparks of lightning scatter from Ohm’s fingertips striking the floor and ceiling in a wild arc. Anathema bodyslams Ohm from behind, sending him crashing to the ground. Behind you, people scream and dive out of the way of the lightning.

Ohm knocks Anathema off, rolling onto his back and scrambling to his feet. Before you can move in, Sergeant Steel vaults the window, an armored fist colliding with Ohm’s head, sending the man to the floor with a crack.

Steel glares up at you, his foot pressing into Ohm’s back. “What were you thinking!?”

You throw up your hands, this isn’t the thanks you expected. “Excuse me? I–I–I just gave you the opening you needed!”

“You could have set him off and got everyone here hurt or worse!” Around the two of you the police are already streaming into the building. EMTs attending to the hostages.

Anathema picks herself up, dusting off her hands. “That _was_ a little risky there, Steps.”

You shake your head. “He d–didn’t have it in him.”

Steel snorts, glaring down at you.“You can’t know that!”

“How!?” Ohm struggles to get up, only to groan in protest as Steel presses his foot harder into his spine. “These are people’s _lives_ at stake here, Sidestep! You have to take this seriously if you want to work with us!”

“Oh, _I’m sorry_, what was I supposed to do!?” You cross your arms. What’s the big deal? “Should I have just… I–I–I don’t know, stand around while all of you just pick your noses?”

“Hey, hey,” Anathema steps between the two of you, “It’s over for now. Let’s just… finish up here and we can talk about this later, okay?”

Steel’s gaze burrows into you. You keep your head up, even if you don’t quite meet his eyes. This mask is proving handy in letting you cheat in all sorts of ways. The man makes you nervous and you’ve no doubt he’s noticed. He’s only gotten more suspicious of you since you first started joining up with the Rangers.

You look away from him, nod your head at Anathema. At least she’s here. “Anathema’s right.”

Steel’s scowl only deepens as he looks between the two of you. “Fine. But this conversation isn’t over.” Steel shifts his weight and – oh no

“Hey, watch out!” You grab for Steel but it’s not fast enough. Ohm, grabs the ankle of Steel’s power suit and a burst of lightning crackles up the armor plating sending him reeling backwards, crashing against the wall. Where did Ohm get the power from?

Anathema moves to kick Ohm’s hand away, still clutching Steel’s ankle. Ohm sends another bolt of lightning towards her. The air cracks, filling with ozone. The bolt grazes Anathema’s arm. The invulnerable woman remains unmarked, but she flinches, hair standing up on end. “Shit!”

There’s a manic grin on Ohm’s face, and it feels like the world slows down as he brings his free hand towards you. If you dodge he’s going to hit the hostages and EMTs. You grit your teeth. This is going to hurt. Just enough time to through your arms over your face as electricity arcs out of Ohm’s fingers. A tingling in your skin, quickly transforms into a sharp sting – cutting deep, starting in your arms and racing downwards. Something hard hits your knees, arms.

A gunshot rings out and the feeling stops. Vaguely aware of activity swarming around you. Everything hurts. Your handler’s going to be so disappointed with you. How could you let her down again like this? Tense up, waiting for the follow-up blow.

Hands grab at you, pulling you to your feet. A very frazzled looking Anathema enters your vision. “Yo, holy crap, Steps, you okay?”

“Anathema?” – The Rangers – you’re not back at the farm. Steel – Ohm – gunshots? “W–w–what happened?”

“I… think Ohm used the charge from Steel’s power armor. He’s okay.” Anathema says. You quickly separate from Anathema, a little wobbly on your own two feet. Steel catches your gaze as he picks himself up, looking similarly unsteady. You don’t need to see his face to tell he’s furious.

“Where–” you rub your arms, an unpleasant tingle still persisting. “where’s Ohm?”

Anathema shakes her head. “Ran once the police opened fire.”

“So he got away.”

“Not yet he hasn’t.” Anathema grins and reaches down to her belt, unclipping her two-way radio. “Charge and the rest of the Rangers will track him down.” She holds the receiver to her mouth, pressing in on the button. “Charge?” Silence. “Marshal Charge?” Nothing. Anathema frowns. “Sentinel? Sunstream? Anybody?”

“I… think maybe the lightning broke your radio.”

An embarrassed understanding dawns in Anathema’s eyes. “Oh. That… that makes sense.”


	3. Bypass

You fall back onto the couch, a container of reheated lasagna steaming in your hands. They’re playing an interview with Steel now. He has to play nice for the cameras but he still looks mad.

Okay, so he doesn’t know you’re a telepath. Would that have changed anything? Even if it did, not a risk you can take. But maybe – was Steel right? Had you been careless? That’s not a fun thought. You can’t afford to make mistakes. You cross your legs on the couch, mindful of the dull pain in your knees. Hit the floor pretty hard back there. But what other choice could you have made at that point?

He never comes right out and says it in the interview, but you have no doubt Sergeant Steel blames you for Ohm getting away. Never mind it was really _his_ fault for not properly handcuffing the man right away. But no, yelling at you had to take priority.

You stick your tongue out at the TV. Steel can suck it. At the end of the day, all the hostages came out unharmed, and the only one that really got hurt was you, which hardly even counts. Changing the channel you flip through before settling on a nature documentary, the narrator making some mocking observations about crabs.

About halfway through the leftovers, you pick up Chelsea’s thoughts out in the hallway. “Back already?” You ask as she opens the door.

Chelsea looks at you with pleasant surprise. Had she really expected you not to be here? “The Lord saw fit to close work early, and I’ll take any excuse for an early day that I can get.” Chelsea drops her purse and a brown paper bag – fast-food? – on the kitchen counter, rolling the knot out of her shoulder.

You glance over at her. “What happened?” That’s what you’re supposed to ask, right? Over a year and you’re still struggling to figure out how ‘Alex’ should behave around her Chelsea. She’s not a threat, a co-worker, or a superior, . Just…. a category all her own.

“Ah,” Chelsea hesitates before putting a smile on her face. “Oh, you know, just an easy day.” She laughs, not quite looking at you. “Any progress with that computer yet?”

Keeping your face blank, you shake your head. “Hadn’t started yet. S–sorry.”

“Oh, that’s fine. There’s no rush.” She shrugs, stepping into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. “It might not even be fixable.”

You frown, _had_ promised to do that today. Why did you put it off?

“I see you helped yourself to the fridge already, but you’re welcome to some of my fries if you want.” Chelsea points over to the paper bag on the kitchen counter. “Didn’t feel like cooking tonight.”

That’s weird. The bag is different. “In-n-Out?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“D–don’t you usually go to Steak’n Shake?”

Chelsea shrugs, turning away from you to watch the coffee machine. “Felt like something different today.”

“They’re on opposite sides of the – the neighborhood.”

“I needed the exercise. What about you?” She grabs a mug out of the cabinet. “Still hard at work with your new super hero friends?”

You huff. “They aren’t c–comic book characters.”

“True, true. The people in comics don’t die. Or, well…” Chelsea frowns, tapping a finger to her chin. “They don’t _stay_ dead at any rate.”

“Well nobody d–died today” You pick up the TV remote, start flipping through channels. “I bet there’s a rerun on n–news by now”

Chelsea laughs, a spike of anxiety running though her thoughts.“Oh that’s really not necessary…” She trails off as you land on the local news. The bulk of the screen is devoted towards an arial shot of an office building lit up by occasional blue-white flashes. A cut-away picture of a talking head at the news studio sits in the bottom right corner. “…shit.”

“The situation on the ground at the Tin House building has deteriorated quickly.” The woman on the screen narrates over the slow-panning image. “The Boosted individual known only as Ohm, last scene escaping an earlier altercation this afternoon was sighted shortly before the fire broke out. We have received word that–”

You turn to face Chelsea, still clutching the remote in your hands. “Steak’n Shake is on that street.” You stare her down. She winces. “That’s why you went somewhere else.”

“You got me, kiddo.” She runs a hand through her hair, pulling it back. “Look, they already said the Rangers are on their way, you really don’t need to–”

“I’m going.” You’re already on your feet, grabbing your backpack on your way to the bathroom.

“Damnit Chickadee…”

Should have kept the police radio on. Could have caught this sooner if you’d been paying attention. This is right in _your_ neighborhood, shouldn’t you have heard sirens or the helicopters or something?

“At least remember to leave the remote this time!”


	4. live wires

While Steel dealt with the press, Anathema had pulled you aside to ask to walk her back to the Ranger’s HQ. Not that an invulnerable, acid-flinging woman needed protection, but you did have a good sense of direction.

It was certainly a better use of your time than standing around in the background glaring at Steel. Spending more time with Anathema and less with Sergeant Steel looked like an easy deal in your books. You’ve been wanting to spend more time with Anathema anyway. If the news articles you’ve been skimming on the Rangers are correct, Anathema is like you in at least one respect. Transgender. She’d be the second person you’d know to identify as such.

You can’t just come right out and ask that though… can you?

“So…” You hold your hands behind your back as the two of you walk door the street. You try to block out the idle thoughts that float around you both on the street. They don’t see you. Just Anathema and Sidestep.

Anathema glances over at you, a grin on her face. “You really pissed Steel off with that move today, Steps. You’re sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, what d–does Steel care?” You huff. “W–what about you? You got zapped too.”

“Yeah, but you aren’t certified impervious to harm. I hate to be the one to say it but…”

“Oh, so–so–so you’re taking his side too!?”

“Hey, I’m not taking anybody’s side.” She holds up a hand to you. “I’m just saying… we’re all lucky nothing worse happened. Fighting boosts and mods is a lot different from the disaster relief stuff you and I have been doing.”

“…I guess.”

“Still though, for what it’s worth, good job on today, yeah?” Anathema flashes you a thumbs up. You return the gesture, smiling under your mask.

“Th–th–thanks.” You rub your arms, willing the memory of the pain to go away. It’s making your chest feel weird. “H–h–hey, um… can I… ask you a personal question?”

That gets a raised eyebrow, suspicious thoughts. Why can’t there be an easier way to ask this? “A personal question?” Anathema repeats back to you.

“Y–yeah. If… that’s okay? I mean– I understand if it’s not, I mean – like – I know we don’t really know each other and it’s _really_ not any of my business but I–”

“Woah, woah, slow down, Steps, you’re babbling.” She laughs at you, a hand held up. You shrink down, widening the space between the two of you as you both walk down the sidewalk. “Just ask.”

Oh god. ‘Just ask’??? Is Anathema really transgender? Because she’s really very pretty, but also, you can kind of see it but is that offensive to say? You don’t mean it in a bad way. But like, how is she able to just show her face to the world like that and not want to curl up in a broom closet? And what does Charge think of the whole thing? Is Charge cool with it or does she like make comments about it? Like, there’s nothing wrong with being transgender to be absolutely clear, but like, it’s also kind of weird, right? Isn’t it? So like, if Charge knew would that keep her from inviting you from working with the Rangers? God, what if she started treating you completely different? Nobody knows as long as you keep your costume on. You even went to the trouble of getting inserts to fix your silhouette –you know, at least for now until the hormones have a chance to work. Did she notice? You can’t read her thoughts for some reason. Is she going to think you were lying to her? What if she hates you? God, why can’t you read her thoughts? But why wouldn’t she really? This nobody showing up out of nowhere getting in the way all the time? “Does Charge hate me?”

Anathema stops walking, utterly mystified. “Uh– I feel like I missed something, Steps.”

Oh god. You’re such an idiot. If you could just sink into the earth right now, that would be great. “S–s–sorry. That’s– that’s not what I w–wanted to ask.”

“Oooookay.” Anathema arcs an eyebrow, an amused smile forming. Well, at least she isn’t mad at you. “You wanna try that again?”


	5. conduction

You turn the corner, the glow of streetlights casting shadows over the city at odds with the setting sun. A small crowd has gathered outside of the Tin House office building. Where are the police? Stuck in traffic?

Probably.

Hard not to fixate on the fact that people recognize you as you jog down the street. Not you. Sidestep. There goes Sidestep! She’ll do… something! If she could clue you in on how to save the day, that’d be great.

At the base of the building someone is just getting off a motorcycle. Or at least that’s why your eyes tell you. Your telepathic sense doesn’t pick up anything. You stare hard at the figure, by the time you can pick up a faint static fuzz where a mind should be it’s already obvious from appearance alone to be Marshal Charge, her black braid of her falling between her shoulder blades and down her back.

She smiles as she sees you, raising a hand in greeting. “Sidestep! Good timing!” You’re not sure if it’s better or worse that she doesn’t seem to be acknowledging how your last conversation ended. “The Rangers are scattered across the city, so it looks like it’s just us for now.”

Working one-on-one with the Marshal? No Anathema to bail you out? That’s… that’s great.

“I don’t know about that…” Charge shakes her head. Oh god. What? Were you talking out loud again? “I think we should w–”

A crack of thunder peals out from the building. Someone in the crowd shouts and points towards a window, lit orange with smoke streaming through the cracks in the window frame.

Charge curses under her breath in Spanish. “So much for waiting.”

You make yourself breath again. Sort through the noise – all the people milling around outside, in neighboring buildings. “I th–think about everyone got out already.”

Charge eyes you with renewed interest. What is she thinking? It’s terrifying not to know. “Anathema said you had a knack for this stuff.”

“I j–just talked to people.” You lie. Avoid her face, turn to look up at the building. Even from outside you can start to feel the heat. No in-building fire suppressant system, of course. Cost-cutting measure.

You take a breath. There is one mind still inside that you immediately recognize. “Ohm’s still in there. I… I th–think he’s tree’d.”

Charge frowns, “Really?”

“Uh– there w–were… reports? On the– on the news?” Come on, you’re not even lying this time.

“I must have missed it in the rush to get over.” Charge shrugs, following you inside. The atrium is empty but otherwise untouched. “Odds he comes peacefully?”

You try not to laugh. You’re on a mission now. This isn’t the time for jokes.

“Lightning powers right?”

“Redirects. Not generates.” You side-eye her. “So d–don’t let him touch you.”

That gets an unexpected laugh. “What kind of woman do you take me for?”

“Um. Is th–that a trick question?”

She laughs again, another small victory. “Ouch!”

The two of you make your way through the building floor by floor, fire alarms pounding in your ears. Small mercy that Charge doesn’t challenge your assertion that there’s no one else in the building. The less time the two of you take to confront Ohm, the better. You don’t hit the fire until the four floor, spreading from the ceiling down. You side-eye Charge as the two of you jog up the stairs. “One last floor, th–there’s going to be smoke.”

Charge gives you a thumbs up. “I can handle a little air pollution.”

You squint at her, bravado? Don’t have time for this. You stop at the top of the stairs, hand hovering over the door handle. Warm but not hot, should be safe to open. “I have a– have a mask, you n–need a filter.”

“Don’t you worry about me.”

“Y–y–your funeral.”


	6. connection gap

Anathema looks at you intently and god this is even worse. This whole thing was a terrible idea. You don’t have a choice now. You’re committed. “I–I wanted to– wanted to ask you something uh–”

“…yeah?”

“Areyoutransgender?”

“Oh.” There’s a guarded expression on Anathema’s face, and she shifts her weight as she stands. “Is that what this about? That’s… not going to be a problem, is it?”

You shake your head wildly. “No! N–n–no! It–it’s great!”

Anathema raises an eyebrow, a hint of her usual cheeriness returning. “‘It’s great?’ Gotta say, that’s a new one.”

Oh god this is going all wrong, why is this so difficult? It’s not like you weren’t trained on how to interact with people. “That’s not– I mean– I–I–I am too!” You freeze up, feels like your heart stopped.

Anathema, in comparison slowly relaxes, understanding dawning on her face. “Okay. That… explains some things.”

“Oh god.” Did you give away too much? Anathema seems more amused now than anything. Is that good? Bad?

“Relax, Sidestep.” Anathema laughs. “You’re fine. But, let’s wait until we get off the street before we talk about… that, okay?”

You nod, face warm under the mask. That makes sense. Not the kind of thing to air in public, that’s something you can understand. The rest of the walk back is a mixture of awkward silence and even more awkward smalltalk as Anathema tries to draw you out.

The Ranger’s Headquarter’s building isn’t very big. Whatever it used to be before the Marshal plan instituted the Rangers, it’s clearly seen better days. Still, any place with air condition and protective walls against prying eyes is welcome. Anathema gets you past the front desk and you already know the rudimentary scanners won’t pick up anything weird about you.

Small mercies.

Anathema falls backward into her seat, putting her feet up on the desk. “Okay, let’s uh, let’s talk?”

You stay standing, sticking near the door. “S–so it’s true?”

“Well,” Anathema smiles, “I wouldn’t talk about like it was cancer, but yeah.”

You avoid looking at her. Can’t stop putting your foot in your mouth, can you chickadee? “S–sorry, I don’t really know…” You slow down, pick your words more carefully this time. “I don’t really know a lot of… people?”

“Is that why you moved here?”

“Moved here? – wait,” You swallow back rising panic. “H–how’d you know?”

Anathema waves a hand, “Well you sure don’t sounds like a Cali native, no offense Steps.” You silently curse yourself. How could you miss a detail like that? “And anyway, Los Diablos is right at the heart of the Free Economic Zone, haven to boosts and mods alike. People like us barely rank on the weird meter.”

“You sound like y–you’re speaking from experience.”

She shrugs, swinging her desk chair side to side. “Maybe, maybe not. I’d rather not get into it?” Can pick up some hurt thoughts in between the words. What happened to Anathema before joining the Rangers?

Now’s not the time to pry. “S–sorry.” You drop your hands into your lap, folding them over each other. “I just– I mean… I–I don’t want to screw this up. I mean, I know this,” you gesture at yourself, “is weird and I–”

“Woah, let me stop you there.” Anathema puts out a hand, “Just because other people don’t get it, doesn’t make it weird.”

“But–”

“Things are a lot better now than they were ten years ago. And if we all keep working at it, in another ten years things will be even better, right?” Anathema shrugs, looking up at you. “Look, I’m happy to help a sister out, whatever questions you’ve got. I just have one condition.”

You chew at your check, tracing patterns down your leg with one hand. “W–what’s that?”

“None of this calling it ‘weird’ stuff, okay?”

“Oh. Um… Okay.”


	7. current

“R–ready?”

“Ready.”

You pull the door open and Charge rushes inside. You follow behind, pushing through the smoke filling the hallway. You can sense Ohm in a room at the end of this hallway. Hasn’t moved for a while. Waiting for attackers? You’d think he’d still be trying to escape. Why’d he come to this building anyway?

You wish Charge had let you take point. Between being a literal living battery and lacking any facial protection she’s more of a liability than anything else. You’d think the leader of the Rangers would be smarter than that, but apparently not.

“Found him!”

You follow Charge into a small office space, books and papers litter the floor, black scorch marks staining the walls. Sprawled against the desk is Ohm, suit unbuttoned and tie undone, a still bleeding head wound running down the side of his face. “W–what the hell happened here?”

“No idea…” Charge coughs into her hand, reach back to ready a pair of handcuffs. “Well, I wouldn’t complain about the anticlimax. Let’s secure him and get out of here.”

You frown. The unconscious read a lot differently to awake people. You’d think you’d have noticed he was– “Charge! Get back from there!”

Ohm springs to life, lunging for Charge’s wrist. She pulls back in time, dropping the handcuffs to the ground. “Mierda! You’re a tricky one, aren’t you?”

Ohm makes another swipe for her, narrowly missing. “Will you people ever stop hounding me?!”

You grab Charge by the arm, forcibly pulling her back. “Let me.”

Ohm blinks at you, then narrows his eyes in recognition. “You!”

Under your mask, you can feel yourself grinning. This is what you were made for. “Me.”

Ohm makes a move for the Charge again. You grab at his arm and swing him to the side against the wall. He groans as you press him hard, forcing his hands behind his back. Grit your teeth, he’s stronger than he looks. “Handcuffs?”

Charge moves from behind you, “Got ‘em.”

“D–don’t let him touch you.”

Your arms strain as Charge gets the cuffs on. She’s way too close. Dangerous.

Ohm struggles against the restrains, hands balled into fists. “I’m innocent! Framed! Whatever it was, it wasn’t me!” He pushes backwards, hard, and you stumble away from him.Charge moves in, bodychecking him to the floor before he can even cross the room. There’s a cry of distress and then silence as he smacks his head against a bookcase.

“Well…” Charge glances at you. “That could have gone worse.”

You nod. “Y–yeah. Um. G–good work?”

“We make a good team, Sidestep.”


	8. closed circuit

“Yeah, anyway, I recommend needles if you can handle it. Once a week is easier to remember and it’s more consistent. Of course…” Anathema pinches the skin on her arm. “Not an option for me.”

You frown at that, surprised. “It’s not?”

She sighs, an extremely tired expression settling over her. “Impervious to all ‘harm,’ remember?”

“Oh.” You cross your arms, one foot pressed against the wall you’re leaning on. “W–wait, but then…”

“Yeah, that too.” Anathema raises her hands is to ask, ‘what can you do?’

“W–well… I d–don’t think I could do needles either…” You shrink down, pulling your arms tight against yourself.

Anathema frowns, watching you from one eye. “You okay, Steps?”

Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it. That life is over, and you’re never going back.

“Heeeeey chicas, what are you two up to?”

You jump to the side away from the door, and most certainly didn’t make any noise in surprise, freight or otherwise, as Charge announces her presence. Anathema stares at Charge, nonplussed. “Never call me that again, thanks.”

Charge cracks up, rubbing the back of her head. “Duly noted. What are you and Sidestep up to?”

“Uh…” You avoid meeting her gaze. “J–just talking.” So Anathema knows about you now. That doesn’t mean you’re going to start showing your face to the world. And _absolutely_ not to the Marshal.

Anathema shakes her head. “Don’t let her trick you Steps. Charge, has all the charm of a wet blanket.”

That gets a laugh from her, a hand on her chest as if feigning a wound. “Wow Anathema! Vicious today. What brought that on?”

Anathema glances between you and Charge before shaking her head. “Nothing. It’s my birthday, I can do what I want today.”

Birthday?

Charge laughs, “Planning anything special?”

“Nah, not really.” Anathema’s voice sounds upbeat, but her thoughts don’t match it. “Probably just veg out in front of the TV tonight, watching reruns. You know, the life.”

“You should do something fun, Themmy.” Charge shakes her head. “You’re not one of those damn re-gene things, live a little!”

You dig your fingers into your arm. “…re–genes?”

Anathema glances at you, her smile turning into a frown. “Uh, yeah. You know those AI drone things they’ve been using over seas?”

“We had to work with a few a while back,” Charge cuts in, rubbing at her neck. “Creepy little things. They almost _look_ like people, you know, if it wasn’t for the blue skin, but… you can just tell. Empty inside.” She frowns.

“Oh.” You grip your arm tighter, past the point of pain. It makes sense you suppose. If anyone outside the Directive has worked with re-genes before, it would be people like the Rangers. And of course, that would be their impression. Was it wrong, really? Were you just tricking yourself?

You don’t want to be that. Empty. You need to be real. To be human. It’s your only chance of making it out here in the real world. And if there’s one thing you know about humans; they can’t exist on their own.

“Ugh, enough about that.” Charge waves the topic away with her hand. “We were talking about birthdays. If you ever change your mind on your boring birthday plans, Themmy, you know my number and where I live.”

“Uh-huh. Consider your offer noted and filed.”

“So,” Charge turns on you, “When’s your birthday?”


End file.
